


The Song of Flowers

by a_cael



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lullabies, Nakamaship, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26556046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_cael/pseuds/a_cael
Summary: How can she deal with something like this when she has been running from her own demons for years?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	The Song of Flowers

One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

_He was breathing heavily as he fell on his knees._

_"Thanks for the offer but...just go! I'll be fine!"_

_There is no way in hell he is going to be fine with those goddamn bullet holes on his body!_

_"No!"_

_His dark eyes found her gaze and she could only bite her lip in frustration when she saw that he was smiling._

_"Go...find good people. You deserve it..."_

She opened her eyes. A soft hum from the engines. Ikkaku san's snores. Hushed voices from outside the room…

"Again, huh?"

It was just a dream...just a persistent dream. It wasn't the first time, actually. She had plenty and even more bizarre ones when she was younger. There's not much to do about it but wake up and forget whatever one had seen. She continued staring at darkness.

Twenty minutes later and she concluded sleep has eluded her. She quietly got out of bed.

"Faina chan? Where are you going?"

"A walk. I'll be fine, Ikakku san. Please go back to sleep."

She slipped out without waiting for her roommate's reply. Ikakku san had been more than helpful since day one and she didn't want to bother her with irrelevant things right now.

She looked around her. The submarine was a lot like her old underground home. She realized it when Penguin san gave her a tour the other day.

_Calm down. Think of it as another mission._

_Gunshots. Plenty of them. He was a child again. He...his mother...they were running away from those gunshots. Heck, he knows what will happen..._

_"PIRATES!"_

_"Help! Help!"_

_"RUN!"_

_And before he knew it, he was buried underneath his mother's lifeless form. Thick warm liquid seeped into his clothes...he tried to ignore it._

_"Shachi..."_

_Her very last word was almost unheard with the noise around them. He gasped as he grabbed her soft winter jacket._

_"Mother!"_

He wakes up panting. His clothes are soaked with sweat, limbs tangled in his sheets.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

His hands couldn't stop shaking as he stripped down to his underwear. The gunshots...her red hair shielding him from the violence...the cold snow stained with her blood...

"For the fucking love of... "

Trying to find something to distract himself, he tore everything off his bed and threw them across the floor.

"Shit!"

He spat every curse word he knew before burying his face into his hands. Zou...what happened there is still fresh and just like rubbing salt to injury, one of his oldest and most terrible memories began to resurface.

"No!"

For fuck's sake! He is a goddamn pirate! His captain is the feared _Surgeon of Death_!

He ignored the knock on the door and the soft footsteps that followed. He didn't even bother to act startled when a shirt was gently tugged down his head.

"Sorry Pen. I'll sort it out tomorrow."

A light grasp on his arm made him gasp.

"It's me."

Shachi looked at his visitor and immediately dropped his eyes in embarrassment.

"I...I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

He hoped he didn't sound too pathetic.

"No worries. I should be the one apologizing for intruding."

"Oh."

"I had to check."

"You heard that, huh?"

"Yes."

"I'm so weak, aren't I?"

"Hardly."

"Oh."

She was new to the crew and Shachi still had qualms about her.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Intrigued, Shachi studied her. She looked back at him with a steady gaze and if she was taking pity of him, it didn't show. Captain must have seen something in her when he invited her to the crew.

"I-If you don't mind..."

"You have my back."

_Back...his mother's back was still warm...he knew it was pointless but couldn't find the heart to let go..._

Tears fell onto Shachi's lap without warning.

"You pulled a muscle when you sparred with Uni san, didn’t you?"

He nodded. More tears appeared as he tried to hold back a sob. The mattress sank beside him. A pair of calloused hands reached and drew him to their owner's warmth.

"Hey."

And with that, Shachi automatically returned the gesture. He was a lot bigger (and had more muscle!) but he doesn't care anymore. She is _nakama_ now and he will trust her as he would his captain and the others.

What she just did...was it instinctive? She wasn't used to this at all. None of the men she grew up with (including Hiro san) were hardly the friendly types. Well, the day she set sail with Captain and Mugiwara san was the exception. She liked to be polite but avoided physical contact if she could.

So why was she in this position again? Ah yes, the Heart Pirates… Captain is a serious and calculating man but a lot of the crew _are_ very friendly. And Shachi san is the most cheerful one of the lot. Why, it was just the other day when he played a prank on Captain! A prank. On the notorious Supernova himself! Others had a hard time stifling their laughter and the captain was not amused. It was a stupid move but certainly took guts.

He looked fragile and vulnerable right now. His easy going attitude and broad smile were gone. She reached for his back and started rubbing circles. He immediately tensed up but soon relaxed at her touch. Who knew? She wasn't an expert on this yet her body seemed to know what to do.

She had stopped walking when she passed by their cabin. It was surely Shachi san- Penguin san had been on watch since midnight. He was cursing and thrashing around by the sound of it. She waited until everything quieted down before she knocked on the door and went inside.

It was a mess. He was on the edge of the bare mattress, his face buried in his hands. She could see him trembling and instinctively knew it wasn't because he was naked. She looked around and located a pile of clothes on top of a chest. First things first, she is not going to let him catch a cold.

His sobs calmed down as she held him in silence. Pins and needles started attacking her limbs and her shirt became damp. Still, she didn't pry him off her. Nightmares sure have a way of crawling into people's lives, don't they?

"I had a mother once."

_It reminded her of a long dead woman._

"I was young when she passed away. I try but I couldn't remember her face anymore."

His grip had loosened but didn't completely free her. His breathing was slowly going back to normal. She nuzzled into his hair for this accomplishment.

"The one thing I could remember aside from her hair was her singing."

_"Singing?"_

The word came out unexpectedly.

"Yes."

"W-what kind?"

"All sorts."

There was a long silence. Did he fell asleep?

"C...could you?"

Or not.

"You want me to sing?"

A nod on her shoulder.

"Oh."

She froze. After those years with the _Tenryuubito_ , nightmares often plagued her sleep and of all things, singing became her only comfort. It became her ritual and no one but Hiro san knew about it. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to share it with someone this once?

_On this island, on this island_

_This humble spring island_

_Jewels and pearls, we have none of those_

_But we have gems as precious as gold_

A lullaby would have been better but it was _that_ one that came to mind first. It wasn't surprising as that song reminded her of home. Sure, she lived underground (literally and figuratively) and traveled from island to island for years but she willingly held onto memories of her lost childhood.

_Sunflower, the cheerful_

_Loyal and proud_

_Faces where the sun rises_

_Like a man who dares a challenge_

_Snapdragon, the tolerant_

_Strength and grace_

_Against all odds, it grows_

_Like an patient woman of beauty_

_Snowdrop, the milk flower_

_Innocent and pure_

_Blooms early in-_

The room suddenly felt cold when he pulled away from her grasps.

"Y...you're s-singing about f-flowers?"

His astonishment combined with his puffy eyes made him look so much younger.

"It's something I learned long ago. I grew up in Gwythvid, a spring island somewhere in Grandline.

"A spring island?"

Something lit up in his eyes and it was contagious. She smiled bitterly.

"Yes. I just hope it still is."

But who was she kidding? Even _that_ man said it was no longer the place they knew. Those unnamed pirates and marines have already destroyed even the tiniest buds on her beloved home.

"Penguin and I grew up in North Blue. It was freezing- it snowed nearly all year round. Flowers are scarce so I don't know much about them until we saw other islands. Must be nice over there."

"It was."

It was like scratching a wound that has long healed. A long forgotten wound yet doesn't cease to exist. A hand on her arm snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Is there more of it? Y-you know, the f-flower song..."

She felt her cheeks growing hot. Here they are, pirates in the New World, trying to find comfort from each other and singing a silly song about flowers. She could almost picture that annoying man chuckling at her right now (he's already dead but could still infuriate her!). Well, she's the newbie here and with that look on Shachi's face, how could she say no?

It was early morning when Penguin dragged himself to their cabin. Shachi (the lucky bastard) had been snoring when he left for his watch and he couldn't wait to shake the hell out of him.

_"What the hell?"_

He frowned when he saw the state of their room. He rushed towards Shachi but soon stopped on his tracks. Right on the younger man’s bed is the notorious _Quicksilver_. Her eyes were closed and there was none of the usual tension on her sleeping form. Beside her is the equally asleep Shachi; head resting on her chest and an arm slung across her waist.

It wasn't hard for Penguin to put two and two together. _Nightmares._ Shachi would typically lash out and make a mess whenever it happens. It would take him, the Captain, or Bepo to calm him down. But looking at how he held onto their newest member, it was obvious that she came to his little brother's aid.

Penguin pulled out a spare blanket and gently tucked the two peaceful figures in it. The woman suddenly stirred, a hand reached to tug Shachi closer and a relived sigh escaped from her lips.

Penguin smiled. He had been worried about the newbie for nothing all along.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t usually post my fanfiction stories online but decided to give it a shot. This one came into mind last year when I (finally) caught up with the series after putting it off for nearly a decade. I kinda felt bad for Ikkaku for being the only woman in her crew so I created Faina, their newest member. The marines gave her the name Quicksilver because of her hair colour and for evading capture for years after causing a certain incident with the Tenryuubito. Her backstory is quite long so I’ll leave it at that (laughs nervously). The "flower song" is my own creation as well and it’s called On this Island. Thank you for reading and reviews are very much appreciated :)


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